The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is launching a major
worldwide tree planting campaign. Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion
Tree Campaign, people, communities, business and industry, civil
society organizations and governments will be encouraged to enter tree
planting pledges on this website with the objective of planting at least one
billion trees worldwide during 2007.

Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, people, communities,
organizations, business and industry, civil society and governments are
being encouraged to plant trees and enter their tree planting pledges on
this web site. The objective is to plant at least one billion trees
worldwide during 2007.

The idea for the Plant for the Planet:
Billion Tree Campaign was inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace
Prize laureate for 2004 and founder of Kenya's Green Belt Movement, which
has planted more than 30 million trees in 12 African countries since 1977.
When a corporate group in the United States told Professor Maathai it was
planning to plant a million trees, her response was: "That's great, but what
we really need is to plant a billion trees." A worldwide effort Recognizing
that there are many tree planting schemes around the world, UNEP proposes to
federate these efforts in both rural and urban areas. People and entities -
individuals, children and youth groups, schools, community groups,
non-governmental organizations, farmers, private sector organizations, local
authorities and national governments - are encouraged to enter pledges on
the online form. Each pledge can be anything from a single tree to 10
million trees.

The responsibility will lie with the
person/organization making the pledge via the campaign website to arrange
for the tree planting. All contributing participants will receive a
certificate of involvement. They will be encouraged to follow up via the web
site so UNEP can verify that the trees have survived, in partnership with
certification mechanisms, such as the Forest Stewardship Council. The
website will record the ongoing tally of pledges, and also publish photos
and accounts from registered campaign members of what they have achieved.

The campaign encourages the planting of indigenous trees and trees that are
appropriate to the local environment. Advice on tree planting will be made
available via the website, as well as information about reforestation and
other tree-related issues, including links to appropriate partner
organizations best equipped to give locally tailored advice, such as the
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Because ideal planting conditions vary in
different regions, the campaign will operate throughout the year.

Children will be put on the front line of the
battle to save the planet under radical proposals to shake up the way that
geography is taught in schools.

The plans, to be published on Monday, will
ensure that, for the first time, issues such as climate change and global
warming are at the heart of the school timetable. Pupils will also be
taught to understand their responsibilities as consumers - and weigh up
whether they should avoid travel by air to reduce CO2 emissions and shun
food produce imported from the other side of the world because of its
impact on pollution.

Details of the new initiative emerged as
global warming is thrust to the top of the political agenda today with the
publication in Paris of a long-awaited report by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. Written by more than 2,000 scientists, the report
is billed as the most definitive assessment yet of climate change.

Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, said
urgent action needed to be taken to avoid the worst-case scenarios and
that educating children about the dangers of climate change was vital.
"Children have a dual role as consumers and influencers," he said.
"Educating them about the impact of getting an extra pair of trainers for
fashion's sake is as important as the pressure they put on their parents
not to buy a gas-guzzling family car."

The plans are part of a major review of the
secondary school curriculum that will be unveiled by the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority, the Government's exams watchdog, next week. They
follow criticism of the way schools have addressed the issues of climate
change and global warming from - among others - the Royal Society of
Chemistry.

Dr Richard Pike, its chief executive, warned
only last month that textbooks were out of date and barely covered the
issues. As a result, lessons on the topics were full of "omissions,
simplifications and misrepresentations."

Under Monday's blueprint, education
for sustainable development - covering issues such as energy
saving and recycling - will be a compulsory part of the
curriculum.

The blueprint, which covers the way lessons
for 11- to 14-year-olds will be taught, is designed to ensure the
curriculum includes topics relevant for the modern world. It will come
into force from September 2008.

"The proposed changes are part of a new
flexible curriculum which will give teachers more scope to bring in
topical issues relevant to today's changing world," a spokesman for the
Department for Education and Skills said. "Ministers want to enthuse
children about subjects like geography."

Other topics to be studied include looking at
the impact of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Mr Johnson said: "It is inconceivable that young people growing up today
should not be taught about issues like climate change - it has enormous
relevance to their lives. Children not only learn about our future, they
shape it.

"No one should consider geography boring - it
is one of the most dynamic and exciting subjects children can study
today."

Mr Johnson stressed that - in addition to the
new emphasis on climate change - pupils would still be taught core aspects
of geography, such as how to use maps and atlases and the location of key
places in the world.

Math experts have warned meanwhile that a
shake-up of the mathematics GCSE will leave pupils unprepared to study the
subject at A-level.

Ministers are planning to introduce two GCSEs
- a compulsory GCSE indicating that a pupil has developed functional
skills in maths, and a second, more advanced GCSE. The Advisory Committee
on Mathematics Education, an independent committee based at the Royal
Society, warned that - without a clear expectation that the majority of
youngsters will take both - some pupils will not be exposed to the
standard of questions needed to study the subject at A-level. Professor
Margaret Brown, a committee member, said: "The Government should send a
strong signal to schools, teachers and parents that most pupils should
expect to study both of the maths GCSEs."

Mr Johnson is expected to order schools to
look at issues such as global poverty and how to overcome it.

Officially, the proposals go out for
consultation on Monday but ministers are eager that plans to enable
schools to debate topical concerns go through. "Serious threats to the
planet will remain if we don't take further action," Mr Johnson said.
Monday's announcement will also include reviews of how every other subject
in the curriculum should be tackled in future. As part of changes to
PE, children will be taught about the dangers of heart attacks and high
cholesterol.

The new topics children will study

* Climate change - the impact on pupils, the
UK and the rest of world.

* Children's responsibilities - whether to
travel by aeroplane or buy food from the other side of the world, and the
impact of purchasing a gas-guzzling car or buying new clothes or trainers.

* The impact of the south Asian tsunami and
Hurricane Katrina.

* Sustainable development - the importance of
recycling waste products and saving energy.

* Fieldwork projects - such as studying ways
to regenerate east London during preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

* Learning to examine individuals' carbon
footprints, and what they can contribute in the fight to preserve the
planet's resources

Alan Johnson: Children must think differently

Published: February 2, 2007

In 1815, Mt Tambora in Indonesia ejected 160
billion tons of ash into the atmosphere - an explosion so cataclysmic that
inhabitants of the eastern US and western Europe didn't see the sun again
for almost a year.

The change in climate was dramatic: the
following year, "the year without summer", failing crops meant 80,000
people died of starvation.

Today's threat of climate change is not quite
so dramatic but it could be more devastating. A report published by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change today shows that we need to take
action if we don't want the worst-case scenario to materialise.

With rising sea temperatures and melting ice
caps, we should all be thinking about what we can do individually to
preserve the planet for future generations.

But we need to look beyond installing low
energy light bulbs and turning the heating down. We need the next
generation to think about their impact on the environment in a different
way. That's why next week we will propose reforms to the school curriculum
for all 11 to 14-year-olds that should provide opportunities to study
issues that bring to life our impact on the planet.

I want sustainable development to be given a
stronger focus and for it to be covered as a key concept in the new-style
geography syllabus.

If we can instill in the next generation an
understanding of how our actions can mitigate or cause global warming then
we lock in a culture change that could, quite literally, save the world.

Importing food from the other side of the
world and unnecessary airplane travel have become significant sources of
CO2 pollution and children should be aware of these consequences.

Similarly, the importance of reducing fossil
fuels and the effects of shifting clothes manufacturing to developing
economies are all issues worth of study and debate in our classrooms.

Children have a dual role as consumers and
influences. Educating them about the impact of getting an extra pair of
trainers for fashion's sake is as important as the pressure they put on
their parents not to buy a gas-guzzling family car.

I'm proud that the UK has one of the best
records in tackling global warming, but serious threats to the planet
remain. There can be no more important subject worthy of study in our
schools today.

Kandilli Observatory
initiates a project to inform people about earthquakes with a mascot
called Sismail, while there are no serious measures to strengthen or
renew weak buildings in Istanbul, which awaits a big disaster in the
near future

Living under the
perpetual shadow of an anticipated earthquake that will lay waste to
Europe's biggest metropolis Istanbul, a new project to raise
awareness in society on earthquakes will launch in October eight
years after the great Marmara earthquake that killed more than 17,00
people.

Sensitivity to Earthquake
Project, organized by Boazii University Kandilli Observatory and
Earthquake Research Institute aims to lessen possible loss of life
and property by making people realize the danger and take necessary
measures, said project coordinator Professor Niyazi Trkelli, at a
media presentation introducing the project. The project will try to
contribute to creating a culture of being protected from
earthquakes, as well.

Supported by the
metropolitan municipality and the governor's office, the project
will be the first to directly address people and inform them, in a
country where 40 percent of its provinces face a very high
earthquake risk. Earthquake training trucks that have been prepared
for the project will first cover Istanbul as the pilot region and
then move to other regions. A Web site with comprehensive
information about earthquakes will be launched, while activities
like short film competitions and theater plays will be held in
cooperation with schools.

The mascot of the
project, Sismail whose name is the combination of the word
seismology and a male Turkish name smail, will also help in
attracting the interest of children. Will the project save lives?

Although a project to
raise awareness has vital significance in saving lives, the first
and foremost measure to prevent massive losses during a possible
earthquake is to strengthen and renew the buildings. A master plan
to deal with the aftermath of an earthquake was completed in 2003 in
cooperation with four universities, but the municipalities are
waiting for the draft law on urban transformation to pass.

The reality of weakened
buildings exists, said Niyazi Trkelli, answering a question by the
Turkish Daily News on whether the project would save lives while
there is no serious work to strengthen buildings. Trkelli said that
the institute is an educational initiative and has to fulfill its
own responsibility, It is not for us to answer this question.
However, there are some improvements in regard to construction
regulations and controls, according to Trkelli. The project manager,
Sheyla Sezan, who created the project as well, emphasized that
serious works are being carried out to strengthen public buildings.

Professor Miktad Kadolu
from Istanbul Technical University Disaster Management Center
emphasized as well that Turkey needs a change of mind about
disasters. Turkey does not have a mindset for disaster management,
he said, We should get rid of the mentality of crisis management and
establish risk management.

There are works and
improvements to get prepared for a possible earthquake but they are
not sufficient, according to Kadolu. [The improvements] are like a
speck of sand on the beach. We need total mobilization, he said.

INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL MONTH
OCTOBER 2007 - Posted August 8, 2007

International Walk to School Month gives
children, parents, school teachers and community leaders an
opportunity to be part of a global event as they celebrate the many
benefits of walking. This year, millions of walkers from around the
world walked to school together for various reasons – all hoping to
create communities that are safe places to walk.